You should initiate the declaration process in Workday. Once you’ve completed that process, our Sociology Academic Coordinator will contact you via email to complete a brief program intake survey, then set up an appointment (via ZOOM or in-person) to discuss your survey responses, connect you with key program resources, and finalize your faculty advisor assignment. After this, we strongly encourage you to reach out and schedule an initial meeting with your program advisor to discuss your course choices and other plans.

Advisors are assigned partially based on your own reported preferences and partially on faculty members' ability to take on new advisees. When declaring your major/minor on Workday and during your initial meeting with our Academic Coordinator, you will have the opportunity to request a specific advisor. While not a requirement, many students prefer to work with an advisor with whom they have established a relationship through prior courses. In other cases, you may prefer to be paired with an advisor who shares your specific interest areas within the overall field. Our Academic Coordinator and Director of Undergraduate Studies are both happy to discuss possibilities and provide advice along these lines. Please note that you are able to switch advisors if you find that a different faculty member better matches your developing interests or activities. In those cases, please confirm your intent to alter your advising assignment with your new faculty advisor, notify your previous advisor of the change, and then schedule a meeting with our Academic Coordinator finalize these advisoral updates. Feel free to read through the faculty bios on the Sociology Department website to become familiar with potential advisors.

A degree in Sociology opens doors to careers in law, education, policy research, non-profit and business management, and countless other paths. Our Academic Coordinator and your advisor would be happy to have more detailed conversations about how you can link your specific interests in Sociology to satisfying career opportunities. We also encourage you to check out the American Sociological Association’s career-based resources for Sociology majors.

We strongly advise students to begin their Study Abroad planning journey through working with Overseas Programs, the central resource for coordinating your Study Abroad plans. Study Abroad goals differ by student; however, Sociology is prepared to support you as you select a program, location, and instructional format. 

Once you determine your Study Abroad program, our Director of Undergraduate Studies (and later, our Academic Coordinator) will work with you to coordinate the administrative aspects of how your coursework abroad will contribute to your Sociology studies at WashU. Please schedule a meeting with our DUS after you coordinate your Study Abroad plans through the Office of Overseas Programs. We strongly recommend that you begin the Study Abroad search and coursework approval processes well in advance of each semester's deadline; we cannot assure approval of last-minute requests. 

Sociology majors may use up to 6 credit hours of approved Study Abroad coursework to fulfill program requirements. Sociology minors may use up to 3 credit hours of approved Study Abroad coursework to fulfill program requirements. All students coordinating Sociology credits through their Study Abroad coursework will be required to complete an exit survey (sent by the DUS) to receive program credit from their Study Abroad experience. 

Students with an interest in deepening their experiences in the WashU Sociology Department should consider Undergraduate Teaching Assistant and Undergraduate Research Assistant opportunities.

Students who are interested in supporting faculty and students within the classroom - or assisting faculty with research projects should contact the Academic Coordinator. Both opportunities can be taken for academic credit and/or paid compensations. 

UGTA and UGRA roles are limited based on faculty needs and availabilities; we cannot guarantee that every interested student will be able to participate in their desired opportunity. Students who are interested in these roles may wish to utilize the resources provided by WashU's Center for Teaching and Learning and Office of Undergraduate Research as they prepare for and carry out undergraduate TA/RA roles. 

Washington University’s Sociology Department is the proud home of the (re-established) Missouri-Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Sociology Honor Society.

Founded in 1920 to “acknowledge and promote excellence in scholarship in the study of sociology, the research of social problems, and such other social and intellectual activities as will lead to improvement in the human condition,” AKD provides an outlet to recognize and further the accomplishments of our Sociology students. Additionally, AKD serves as a hub for students to propose and organize a range of department-sponsored social and professional activities. 

The Beta-Missouri Chapter of AKD inducts new members once a year, in each Spring semester, by invitation only. For more details on the organization and one's prospective eligibility, please reach out to our Academic Coordinator.

To be eligible for Latin Honors in Sociology, students must have maintained a 3.65 GPA through their sixth semester and fulfill department-specific criteria. For most departments, earning Latin Honors indicates that you have excelled in your coursework and have completed a substantial research project. 

Sociology majors should review the criteria for Latin honors established by the College of Arts & Sciences to determine their eligibility for this award. Those who are eligible should consider undertaking an Honors Thesis in Sociology, as it is the only path to receiving Latin Honors within the Department. Students who participate in the Honors Thesis Program must complete a two-semester sequence of coursework (6 credit hours total) to successfully fulfill the departmental Capstone and Latin Honors requirements: a preparatory seminar in the fall and a spring independent study spent in thesis research and writing.

Thesis projects can vary in scope, but typically involve original sociological research presented in the format and length of a conventional academic article – i.e. 30-40 pages of text, references, and figures. We strongly recommend that students considering a Sociology Honors Thesis speak with their department advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies about their intentions and project plans as early as possible - absolutely no later than the Spring term of their Junior year - so that they are ready to complete their Sociology Honors Thesis Program application and begin the Honors Program sequence in the Fall of their Senior year. 

Students who wish to pursue Latin Honors via the Sociology Honors Thesis should first complete the Sociology Honors Thesis Program application. Honors Thesis cohorts are admitted annually, juniors should apply for the Program in the Spring prior to entering their senior year.  Admitted students will be notified of their acceptance into the Program in the early- to mid-summer.  Once admission to the Sociology Honors Program is approved, students should register for SOC 4902: Sociology Honors Thesis (3 credits) in the Fall semester of their senior year.  In the Fall, students will participate in a seminar-style preparatory course, working to develop their thesis projects, secure needed institutional research approvals*, solidify their faculty mentoring team, and to construct the basis of their thesis through a project proposal. In the Spring term, students should register for SOC 4900 Capstone Project for Sociology Majors (3 credits), this time completing their coursework as an independent study supervised by the faculty mentoring team they develop. Students who opt for the thesis capstone option can apply three of their thesis credits (those associated with SOC 4902) toward their upper-level major's elective requirements, meaning that – in addition to their completion of the two-semester Honors sequence – they would only need to complete four (rather than five) additional 3000-/4000-level SOC electives. To receive departmental approval to register for these courses, students must:

(1) Satisfy the College GPA requirement for admission to Latin honors, now set at 3.65 through six semesters;

(2) Identify a department faculty member who has approved the content and scope of the thesis and is willing to serve as the student’s thesis advisor. (Note that this advisor can be – but does not have to be – the student’s department academic advisor); and,

(3) Complete the following prerequisites: SOC 3030: Introduction to Research Methods, SOC 3001: Social Theory, and SOC 3040: Statistics for Sociology (or approved equivalent, having completed - or be in the process of completing - the sixth, substituted SOC elective in place of the major's Statistics requirement).  

Prior to undertaking the Honors Thesis project, the student must consult with their thesis advisor to identify a thesis reader to serve as a secondary assessor of the thesis project and product. The reader may be another faculty member in the Sociology Department, a Sociology faculty affiliate (given explicit consent), or another member of the Washington University faculty community - ideally in program-adjacent fields. 

After completing the written thesis, each Honors student will give a brief "defense" presentation (10 - 15 minutes, followed by Q&A) summarizing their research, to be attended by the advisor, their reader, and other permitted parties. The student will exit to allow their advisor and reader to meet and determine if the student’s work meets the Sociology Department’s standards for Latin Honors recommendation. In the case of a favorable recommendation, the level of Latin honors conferred (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) will be determined by the student’s grades through seven semesters, and in accordance with guidelines established by the College of Arts & Sciences, following these proportions: The top 15 percent in overall GPA of the full cohort of Latin Honors candidates who complete the necessary requirements of their major requirements will graduate summa cum laude; the next 35 percent magna cum laude; and the next 50 percent cum laude.

*Sociology research often involves conducting interviews, surveys, or specific kinds of observational data that includes “human subjects.” A primary component of the Fall preparatory seminar will be securing needed approvals from Washington University’s Office of Institutional Integrity ("Institutional Review Board") to conduct one's thesis research. Students anticipating involving human subjects in their Sociology Honors Thesis research should review the Human Research Protections Office's website and resources. 

While the field of Sociology focuses on the research that informs broader social systems and policy, our students and faculty are well-situated within their roles and communities to make meaningful, data-informed, on-ground social change.

Our Department works closely with both the Center for Career Engagement and the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement to match students with high-impact experiential learning opportunities - sometimes in the form of program-required Capstone internships, sometimes as an uncredited means of exploring career options and opportunities. 

Additionally, many of our faculty teach classes that center experiential learning as a part of the broader course's content. From community-sourced guest speakers and collaborative research, to grant-writing and introductory public scholarship, WashU Sociology offers countless opportunities to translate your classroom knowledge into realized career pathways and real-world impacts. 

Students may transfer courses from a domestic study program (i.e., another accredited previously-attended institution in the U.S.) or a Department-approved Study Abroad program. Transfer credits can fulfill Sociolgoy major or minor requirements, upon approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Majors are eligible to transfer up to 6 credit hours to fulfill either:  a) one introductory-level SOC course and one upper-level SOC elective course or b) two upper-level SOC electives. Minors are eligible to transfer one course to fulfill one introductory-level SOC course or one upper-level SOC elective course, or up to 3 credit hours. 

Please note that student options for using transfer credit to fulfill core requirements is limited to SOC 3040: Statistics for Sociology. Both SOC 3030: Introduction to Research Methods and SOC 3000: Social Theory (or SOC 3003: Black Feminist Theory) must be taken in Washington University’s Sociology Department. 

Students interested in receiving credit for courses taught outside the department should contact our Academic Coordinator. Please note you that will be required to submit a copy of the syllabus for the course you are petitioning to take, as well as a brief memo as to what is sociological about the course and how it fits into your larger program of study. Coursework that is being used to fulfill other program requirements (another major or minor) cannot be used towards SOC requirements.

The Academic Coordinator will ensure that your petition is reviewed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies and Undergraduate Committee. Course approvals are assessed on petitioned courses' descriptions, syllabi provided, and justification memos submitted. You will receive an e-mail from the Academic Coordinator and/or the Director of Undergraduate Studies reporting the outcome of your credit petition decision.